Apple (AAPL.O) said on Tuesday it would host its fall event on Sept. 12, setting the stage for what analysts believe will be the unveiling of a new line of iPhones and smartwatches.

The event will be hosted at the Steve Jobs Theater at its headquarters in Cupertino, California, according to invites from the world's most valuable company.

Wall Street analysts have said Apple will try to entice shoppers with a range of new features for its flagship device, as the launch comes against the backdrop of a slump in smartphone demand globally.

Apple posted a 2.4% decline in iPhone sales for its fiscal third quarter - a rare drop for the product that has for years powered the company's growth.

The most expensive variant of the new generation iPhone will have a periscope camera that could improve zoom capacity by 5 times or more, according TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

The expected watch lineup may feature a new processor based on Apple's A15 Bionic chip, already used in previous iPhone models, and will boost performance, according to a Bloomberg News report.

European new car registrations jumped 15.2% in July, the 12th consecutive month of growth as the auto industry recovers from pandemic-related supply chain issues, data from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) showed on Wednesday.

Electric vehicle sales jumped 60.6%, continuing a rise buoyed by subsidies in a number of European Union countries. Full EVs accounted for 13.6% of all new car sales, up from under 10% in July 2022.

Plug-in hybrids, which have both a combustion engine and a large battery, accounted for 7.9% of sales, while one in four vehicles sold in the EU was a full hybrid.

Between them, petrol and diesel engine models made up just under 50% of sales. Diesel vehicles, which alone comprised more than 50% of new car sales as recently as 2015, accounted for just over 14% of sales in July.

Europe's top car seller Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) posted a 17.9% increase in sales in July, the ACEA said, while BMW (BMWG.DE) and Renault (RENA.PA) saw sales rise 22.5% and 16.9% respectively.

But Stellantis (STLAM.MI), which has struggled with logistics problems and car deliveries in Europe, posted a 6.1% drop in sales in July.